January 11, 2010

In a city that's used to some pretty rough media coverage, journalists feasted like sloppy gluttons on Detroit in '09. My friends and relatives back in Chicago read all this stuff and ask me if I'm some kind of crazy Sadist for moving to Detroit. They can't fathom why I would ever want to set foot here, let alone buy a house and plant my roots. "Aren't you supposed to drive thru red lights at night in Detroit...?"

Well, there's plenty of good reasons to spend time and get to know Detroit, and as Toby Barlow just wrote in his article for 'Under the Influence Magazine's' Detroit Issue, this place can grant you your wishes. So, as we at the Remains of the D kick off our first 'two week project' (hopefully not destined to become the "too weak project!"), we want to take a minute to let a range of the young voices that make up today's Detroit say some words about 2010. We hit up 12 people under the age of 40 with a questionnaire and asked that they keep it brief. Some of them did, others kinda didn't- but they're all worth reading. Click on each person's link to read their full responses. Enjoy.

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"In 2009 I received anywhere from 3 to 10 emails a week from some journalists somewhere asking me to help them with their stories about Detroit because they've come across my website..."

"I moved back to Detroit because of the possibilities here. Detroit's struggles are real, and so are the statistics. However, it's how we, as a community, react to these adversities, and learn from our difficult past... It is clear that the people of Detroit are it's greatest assets..."

"Young people in Detroit have the ability to act on their dreams and try out new and risky ideas in a way that is not as possible in other cities. We feel like the things we can do in Detroit are limitless and, because the cost of living is low, we can afford to be creative in how we structure our lives."

"...you can either follow headlines and allow them to dictate your way of thinking, or you can aspire to make your own. When you decide to look at the city in a positive light, you become free to the many ways in which change is in fact possible."

"A lot of people were excited about the elections of Dave Bing and Charles Pugh... But the specifics on their policies seemed to be missing from the conversation. I think the same can be said of the city on a broader level. The energy is here but we as a community have to get more engaged to see true change."

"I think the events of last year are going to motivate people to step up and get involved in their communities. Almost 2000 people signed on to be tutors in Detroit Public schools in the past few months and work on the gardens around town are on point. Small contributions can go a long way in this town and people are ready to give back."

"Among the millions of little articles about Detroit, few are able to articulate the nuts and bolts of why people choose to live here. It's interesting to watch the majority of writers try to understand Detroit."